AGRICON MUSHROOMSBy Jan Conradie

How we got Started

• Started doing research in 2008• Graduated from Elsenburg Collage in 2008 with B.C. Agric• Worked on a mushroom farm in Wester Cape in January 2010• Purchased plot in early 2010• Construction started June 2010• First batch of compost arrived in September 2010• Importing compost from a South African mushroom farm

• Production facility consist 8 Growing rooms, pack house, fridge, office and storage area.

• Each growing room had 98m²• Produced 1,5 ton of fresh mushrooms per week• Employed 18 permanent staff

• Expanded production area in 2011 to 123m²• Expanded again in 2012 to 148 m²• Increased our production to 3tons of fresh mushrooms per week• Staff increased to 25 permanent employees• Started construction of our own composting yard early 2013

• In 2012 Also started producing brown mushrooms• Increase our product range from 4 items to 7 different types of mushrooms• ±8% of production area used for brown

Compos Yard

• Finished in April 2013• 3 Bunker system design• 30 by 30 meter mixing area• 4 batches of compost at one time• Water recycling system• Recycling equivalent to 250 000 litters of fresh water usage weekly

Each compost batch:

• 9 tons of wheat straw• 4 tons of local broiler chicken manure• 75 % water• Each Batch about 25 ton• Team increased to 32 permanent employees

• 2016 Did a complete rebuild of all growing room shelves.

• Increased to 210 m²• Used 8,5km steel for new shelves • Team increased to 44 permanently

employed personnel• Increased growing are allowed for 4 to

4,5 tons production weekly• Highest recorded 5,1 tons in July 2017

• Larger growing area required more compost• Use 12,5 tons of wheat straw every week• Total of 650 tons per year• 6.25 tons of boiler chicken manure weekly• More efficient picking techniques

Markets• Started with 1 wholesaler in 2010• As production increased we gained more markets• Now supplying:• 8 Wholesalers• 7 Retailers• 9 Restaurants• Supplying about 80% of the market requirement

Diversifying

26 tons of spent compost from growing process

2016 started planting other vegetablesProduced 8,5tons of blue pumpkin from 700 plants

Supply to Nurseries and gardening services

Focus on Red Cabbage in 2017

• Planting between 800 to 1000 seedlings weekly• Using new cultivars • Aiming for year round production

What’s in the future?• Agricon’s Goals:• Keep developing and growing the local mushroom market• Target import markets• Value adding• Diversifying further by utilizing our waste products and water• Keeping Namibian Dollars in Namibian hands!!!